Labor Day Weekend in Budapest, Hungary

Labor Day weekend 2009 was rapidly approaching. My husband Bill and I had mixed feelings about the holiday, since we had spent the previous two years living in Germany and would have to go back to America the week after Labor Day. To cheer us up, I suggested that we take one last trip to a European city both of us wanted to see before taking such a trip would be so much harder to do. Bill and I had a short list of places we wanted to go. We both wanted to visit Lisbon, Portugal and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Neither of us had been to Rome, Italy. I had been itching to see Ireland. In the end, we chose Budapest, Hungary as the last European city we'd visit before we had to go back to the States.

There were several reasons why Budapest ended up being the last stop on our whirlwind two-year European tour. First of all, the other cities we were considering were more or less accessible by air or cruise ship. Since Hungary is located in eastern Europe, we figured it would not be as easy to get there from the United States. Secondly, Budapest is a fascinating city that was closed to Westerners for decades. My husband, having spent time in Europe at the height of the Cold War, was fascinated by eastern European countries that were "forbidden fruit" during his previous time abroad. Thirdly, we knew we would enjoy Hungary's spa and wine culture. And finally, it was very economical to fly to Budapest from Germany; the flight would be short and relatively inexpensive. Indeed, we flew on Malev Airlines, Hungary's official carrier and had pleasant flights both to and from Budapest.

Our hotel

Once we had decided to visit Budapest, I started looking for places to stay. I usually consult Trip Advisor when I start planning trips because it's a great place to get real opinions about hotels. I have yet to be disappointed by any of the places we've stayed that were suggested by Trip Advisor contributors. Indeed, we did find a marvelous and comfortable hotel in Budapest, the Corinthia Hotel Budapest. Although the Corinthia Hotel is a five star establishment, Expedia.com was offering great rates. I booked three nights for us in an executive suite.

While Bill and I usually don't upgrade our hotel rooms, the executive suite at Corinthia Hotel in Budapest is well worth the minimal extra expense. Staying in an executive suite allows guests complimentary use of the Executive Lounge. At the time of our visit, the Executive Lounge had an open bar, plenty of food, and computers for checking email. In fact, the spread in the lounge was so generous that it would have been possible to just live on the food that was served there without eating or drinking anywhere else. I believe there were a few guests who did just that.

Corinthia Hotel is also richly appointed with amenities ranging from several restaurants and bars to a fantastic spa. In fact, I was very eager to sample the hotel's spa and even talked my husband into giving it a go. We both got very relaxing treatments at Corinthia Hotel's spa, which is fully equipped with a pool, steam baths, saunas, and very skilled massage therapists. I booked a package which included a 20 minute hydromassage bath in what appeared to be a jacuzzi on steroids, a 30 minute apricot body scrub, and a 50 minute deep tissue massage all delivered by a guy with magic hands named George.

Speaking of spas

Budapest is actually known as a spa town and is nicknamed the "city of healing waters". The city's spa heritage began when the Romans discovered and developed the 118 natural thermal springs that occur in Budapest. Going to the spa and soaking in the therapeutic hot mineral waters is a national pastime and visitors can choose from a number of public baths. Many hotels besides the Corinthia offer their own spas, as well.

Buda vs Pest

One thing I didn't know before we visited Budapest is that the city is divided by the Danube River and the different parts of the city are known as Buda and Pest. Our hotel was in Pest, which seemed to be the more developed part of town. The area was rather flat and cosmopolitain, yet very beautiful. We walked across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to get to Buda, the hillier part of Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. We didn't spend as much time on the Buda side of Budapest, though we did find an excellent restaurant that served Belgian beer. The Buda side of Budapest is also where one must go to visit Buda Castle, a magnificent palace dating back to the 13th century.

Margaret Island

There was a lot going on during our visit to Budapest. We happened to visit the weekend of Gay Pride, as well as the weekend of a major football game. There was also a half marathon race sponsored by Nike going on. All of these things conspired to make Bill and me stop and pay attention to the vibrant, colorful place that Budapest is. One other thing that was going on was the reconstruction of Margaret Bridge, which is the main way for people to get to Margaret Island, an island that sits in the middle of the Danube. Bill and I visited Margaret Island, which is basically a big park and recreational area.

We had beautiful weather on the day of our visit, so there were many people out and about with their kids and pets. The island is a great place to take a stroll, have a picnic, or go jogging. We saw a lot of people enjoying those activities and later stopped at a cafe to enjoy some Hungarian beer and watch the animals at a small petting zoo.

Budapest is a great place to people watch

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but when Bill and I visited Budapest, we didn't go to any museums or see any major sights. That's because there was so much going on in the streets that no museum would have held our interest for nearly as long. I mentioned before that we showed up on a weekend when a lot was going on. Indeed, we actually got trapped on the western side of Pest because of Gay Pride. We went for a walk to the Danube, strolled through a market where people were selling crafts and music and children were performing. We had spa appointments for the afternoon, so around noon, we started heading back to our hotel. We got fairly close when suddenly, we found ourselves as part of a large crowd of people, many of whom were very irate.

Not knowing what was going on, Bill and I were very confused when we were confronted by a large barrier that had been erected for a couple of miles in honor of Gay Pride. The barrier was for the Gay Pride March. Apparently, there were some troublemakers there, which made the fence necessary. Checking our watches nervously, Bill and I started walking alongside the fence, looking for a way to keep heading east. We walked for many blocks before we were finally able to get around the celebration and make our way back to the hotel.

The next day, Nike was sponsoring a race. Bill and I were heading back toward the Danube when we ran right into the foot race, which had runners from all over the world competing, some of whom were dressed in costumes. I spotted one guy dressed like a blue M&M. Because of the race, many people were stuck on the side of the street, waiting to cross. After about twenty minutes of waiting, some people got impatient and crossed anyway, dodging runners all the while.

We later caught up with the runners at the Danube River. Bill and I stopped to watch for awhile as thousands of joggers passed us. Bill spotted one hapless runner who had stuffed his t-shirt into his shorts. Unfortunately, the t-shirt weighed down the shorts until they were about to fall off! I was actually filming the runners when this happened and Bill can be heard on the film, pointing out the guy who was about to go commando.

A pleasant send off

Unfortunately, we had to leave Budapest early on Monday morning. Corinthia Hotel set us up for success, though. They had a table set up for early risers that had plenty of breakfast food available for the taking. We booked the hotel's car to take us to the airport. It cost about $40, but the driver was ready and waiting for us in an immaculate Mercedes. He spirited us off to the airport and we were soon back on Malev airlines, headed for Germany. I was so sad to leave Budapest. We had a marvelous time there. We discovered delicious Hungarian wines, tasty cuisine, and some incredible local music that I happened to buy at a stand near the Danube.

I would definitely recommend Budapest to anyone who loves spas, good wine, good music, and fantastic opportunities to people watch. Our visit there remains one of my favorite memories of our time in Europe. I plan to visit again sometime.

Sources

aviewoncities.com

budapestinfo.org

Corinthia.com

Expedia.com

Malev.com

YouTube.com barneeee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKT-uZTVYOQ

Personal experience